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How Laymen Perceive Outbreaks of (Re-)Emerging Infectious Diseases: the Case of Poland
Thu, August 30, 9:00 to 10:30am, ICC, E3.6Abstract
Media very often cover epidemics of (re-)emerging and emerging infectious diseases (REIDs). Those disasters, including outbreaks of ebola, Zika, SARS, are studied and monitored by specialized agencies such as CDC and WHO. REIDs are considered important because local outbreak can easily propagate, transgressing social boundaries and crossing national borders.
REIDs epidemics are complex phenomena. Scientists are able to them to model outbreaks, predict them and contain. Does this knowledge is transferred from experts’ discourse to public discourse? Does scientific representation of REIDs translates into how laymen perceive those threats? The first transfer of knowledge (from experts’ to public discourse) has been investigated quite well in sociology (dynamics of epidemics media coverage in response to levels of actual risk, research concerning moral panics in relation to REIDs etc.). The second transfer (from public representation to individuals’ perception of REIDs) still requires further investigation.
Our research focuses on both areas of knowledge transfers. Currently there is survey study under preparation (the data will be collected among adult Poles after second flu season, April 2018; N = 600, personal interviews; the sample will represent the general populations in terms of sex, education, income distribution; the study will control such factors as political preferences). The survey will reveal how laymen perceive risks associated with REIDs in comparison to other risks, how they estimate the probability of outbreaks, do they trust in public institutions devoted to prevention of REIDs. The results of the survey will be interpreted in context of media discourse analysis.